Black Strobe

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Too often, dance music isn't taken seriously unless it in some way resembles rock. But that doesn't mean cross-pollination is necessarily good for it, and Black Strobe's Burn Down Your Own Church is a prime example why. This French quartet, which has been putting out singles for a decade but is only now getting around to making a full album, marries palm-muted riffs and guttural, take-me-seriously vocals with zooming acid synths and ravey ambience. As is all too usual in this sort of project, the rock part dominates—and drags. Cuts like "Shining Bright Star" and "Blood Shot Eyes" swagger and stomp like third-rate industrial, and there's plenty of that already available.